Justice News

Three Men From Toledo Area Indicted For $23 Fraud Scheme

A federal grand indicted three men from the Toledo area for their roles in the operation of a $23 million fraud scheme involving the sale of Iraqi dinar currency and two non-existent hedge funds, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati field office.

Rudolph M. Coenen, age 47, of Jacksonville, Florida, has already pleaded guilty to crimes related to his role in the conspiracy.

The men are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Huebner is also charged with multiple counts of money laundering, structuring and willful failure to file currency and transaction reports.

As a result of the defendants’ conduct, investors lost about $23.8 million from dinar sales and more than $700,000 from the sale of non-existent hedge fund “seats” and “placements,” according to the indictment.

“These defendants made false statements time and again to convince people to part with their savings and hard-earned cash,” Dettelbach said. “The fact that they falsely claimed one member of the conspiracy was wounded while fighting in Iraq is particularly egregious.”

“Illegal activity involving the investment industry has brought financial ruin to many Americans,” Enstrom said. “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex investment schemes to ensure that the promoters of these schemes do not use the financial-services industry for personal gain.”

The indictment charges that beginning about August 2010, Huebner, Coenen, Emmenecker and Teadt conspired to operate “BH Group” in Toledo and “Bayshore Capital Investments” in Jacksonville in order to defraud investors through investments in the Iraqi dinar currency and two non-existent hedge funds. The conspirators promoted the dinar and non-existent hedge funds through the dissemination of a series of material falsehoods conveyed primarily through weekly interstate conference calls and through the conspirators’ web site, according to the indictment.

False claims included statements about the U.S. Treasury Department’s holdings of dinar and involvement in the Iraqi dinar investment market, according to the indictment.

Additional material false statements made by all the defendants include, but are not limited to, portrayal of Coenen as a former vice president at JP Morgan Chase and a former Marine who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.

Coenen worked for JP Morgan Chase for one day as an account executive/loan officer. He never served in the first Gulf War, was never wounded in combat and never received a Purple Heart, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases will be less than the maximum.

This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Gene Crawford and Matthew W. Shepherd following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilty. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.